Star Wars: A Spark of Hope
by romancered
Summary: Six months after Crait, Leia's death shakes everyone to their core. As Kylo and Rey try to resist their pull toward each other, Hux begins to wonder how a Jakku scavenger killed Snoke and his Praetorian guards all by herself. And when the mysterious Knights of Ren come into play, the Dark and the Light will have to work together to finally ensure a peaceful future for the galaxy.
1. Chapter 1: Broken

**As an attempt to cope with my love for all things Star Wars, this little piece was born. May the Force be with us as we wait another 713 days until Episode IX.**

 **Before we start, I would like to mention that the name _Star Wars: A Spark of Hope_ isn't mine, it was mentioned in one of the videos I watched on YouTube where they made predictions for Episode IX and I simply liked it, ergo the title of this story.**

* * *

The hall is eerily silent. Only an eventual whimper can be heard.

Rey stands in front of a small crowd of people. It's sad and devastating how many members of the Resistance are left, but it's better than nothing, she reasons with herself.

She takes a deep breath, and a shudder passes through her body. "Today, we say goodbye to one of the greatest heroes of our age." Her voice trembles with unshed tears, but she swallows the feeling and continues. "General Leia Organa, who died as she lived - brave and full of hope." A tear escapes her eye and she can feel her resolve start to falter. "May... May the Force be with her. Always."

The room echoes. "Always."

Poe approaches her. His eyes are full of sympathy and gentle support. "Would you mind if I said a few words?"

Rey shakes her head and retreats to the crowd. If anything, she's grateful to be out of the limelight. At least in the crowd she can let her tears flow.

Poe takes the center stage. His stance is confident, albeit a little humbling. As the new leader of the Resistance following Leia's death, he's already taken quite seriously to his new role. "As you all know, General Organa and a dozen other of our people were killed last night when an infiltrator of the First Order set fire to one of our military bases. Leia tried to get everyone to safety, but ultimately the base exploded and left no survivors. As of now, we have no information on the location of the spy, but we are working on it." Poe pauses and a wistful look crosses his features. "I know it seems like our situation is more hopeless than ever, but I still believe in Leia's most treasured belief - we _are_ the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down. The moment we stop believing that, is the moment we've lost. The moment our galaxy is lost. Our mission is not over, we still have allies scattered across the galaxy to find. So let's get to work. For Leia. For all the friends we've lost."

Most people nod and the crowd slowly dissipates, until the only people left standing in the small hall are Rey, Poe, Finn, and Rose. Rose has red streaks staining her cheeks and her eyes are puffy; it reminds Finn of the days after she'd lost her sister. He's worried about her health as well. It took her almost a week to wake up after the battle on Crait, and she's been slowly recovering ever since.

"What do we do now?" Finn asks, breaking the silence. "Luke Skywalker is gone. Leia is gone. The First Order found us. It's only a matter of days until we're attacked." He says what everyone is already thinking and it makes everyone stare at their feet in silence. "Has the spark really gone out?"

"No," Rey says. "As long as we fight, there's still hope. I won't let Luke and Leia's death be in vain."

"Rey-" Finn starts.

She cuts him off, resolution sparkling in her eyes. "No. We will win, as long as we stay together. I'm sure of it."

Later, when she's alone in her room, meditating, Rey suddenly feels a shift in the Force. The feeling is dark and cold, and oh-so-familiar. But this time something is different. This time she feels devastating sadness and loneliness, and they make her soul ache as if she were feeling those things herself. She takes a deep breath to calm herself; she even pinches her arm in case all of this is a dream.

But it isn't, and there is a broken shell of a man who used to be Kylo Ren, kneeling in the middle of her room.

* * *

The news of his mother's passing breaks him to pieces. He shows no emotion in front of Hux when he delivers the news, but once he's alone in his chambers, his knees buckle and he finds himself on the ground.

He already thought his mother had died when that TIE fighter blew up the Raddus, but in retrospect, he realizes he'd always known she wasn't really gone. The connection they always shared, even though he tried to sever it, was there all along and deep down he knew she was alive.

But now... Now the connection is truly gone and he feels like he misses a limb; his mother was such a vital part of his existence that he now feels incomplete. The pain burns even stronger when he thinks of his father, and he can almost feel that pain swallowing him whole. Regret is by far the worse, he wishes he could stop thinking about everything he's sorry about, tries to shut that part of himself down, but it tears him apart.

The pain morphs into blinding rage as hours go by and soon enough his entire room is in shambles. Pieces of furniture litter the floor as fire engulfs whatever is left. At one point, striking things with his lightsaber isn't enough, he chucks it across the room, takes off his gloves and starts hitting whatever is near. By the time he stops seeing red, the wall in front of him is filled with dents and traces of his knuckles.

Before, destruction helped him put his emotions under control. Now, it somehow makes him feel even worse and he feels like this is all he's ever done - destroyed things.

He falls to his knees and stays like that for a long time. His mind tortures him by replaying memories - happy memories of his parents, learning the ways of the Force with Luke, Snoke's promises of power, and his acceptance of the darkness. He sees his father's face in the moment his lightsaber claimed his life, he sees Luke's eyes as they faced off on Crait. For a split second, he thinks of the scavenger. Her tear-filled eyes when they fought for grandfather's lightsaber haunt him to this day, and he recalls that time she called him a monster.

He's never agreed more.

He vows never to think of her again just moments before he feels eyes on himself. He doesn't even have to look to know the Force has brought her to him.

It's been six months since Crait, and the Force has connected them a handful of times since then, but they've always simply ignored each other. Rey would turn her back to him and pretend he wasn't there, and he was happy to return the favor. He would go on with his business and after some time, she would be gone. Kylo often wonders how to sever the bond between them. While it provided him with comfort before, now he sees contempt and disappointment in her eyes when she looks at him, and he resents her for that.

How can she, a nobody from nowhere, pity _him_?

He decides to speak to her this time. He looks up and their eyes meet. It's been so long since they've even looked at each other. She changed her hair. Now she wears it down, with only two locks tied back.

His voice is coarse and devoid of emotion when he speaks. "Go away."

Rey flinches slightly at his words but composes herself quickly. She looks surprised to hear his voice.

She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know how."

Silence.

"I'm sorry... About Leia."

He closes his eyes and tries to control his raging emotions. It seems like he is losing control over everything, including himself, and for a moment he worries the girl will receive the backlash of that if she doesn't disappear soon.

Or if she continues talking.

"Go. Away," he repeats through gritted teeth.

She senses the turmoil inside of him and decides the best course of action would be to stop talking. There are so many things she wants to say to him but she's still so angry and disappointed she can't even put it into words. She wonders if she should simply sit in a corner and wait for the connection to break, but she feels his sorrow rolls off him in waves and she just _can't._ She finds that she hates him and understands him at the same time. This loneliness he feels - she's dragged that feeling around like an anchor her entire life. This sorrow he feels - she felt it when her parents abandoned her. And this anger... Well, she thinks she also has some of that inside of her.

Rey wonders how she would like to be consoled. She wouldn't want words; words are fleeting and often untrue. She would want someone to simply stand by her, a comforting presence amidst the grief.

And then she sees his hands. His once strong, confident hands are now bloody and bruised, and she can't look away. Rey stands there, frozen, until she decides to trust her gut.

She slowly approaches him, as if he were a wounded animal, and kneels in front of him. His hands are resting on his lap and she notices that the blood is staining his clothes. He stubbornly refuses to look at her and stares at his lap, avoiding her eyes. She doesn't care; instead, starts to untangle the long band tied around her forearm. She holds it in her hands and pauses, hesitant to make the move. She's unsure how he'll react if she touches him.

Moments pass and she takes a deep breath, then carefully reaches for his hand. She gently takes it and in that moment he looks up, startled. He stares at her with the most intense look, and she has to use all of her willpower to focus on her work and keep her head down. She just knows she wouldn't be able to resist his gravitational pull.

When she's done wrapping the band around his right hand, she takes the left.

 _Is he even breathing?_

She doesn't know, but then again, she's not sure what she's doing either.

Once she's done, she puts his hands back onto his lap and leans back, quietly waiting. She doesn't want to look up yet, she's afraid what she'll see if she does. Half of her wishes the connection would break already; this _thing_ that she's done somehow feels incredibly intimate and suddenly she wonders what the hell she was thinking.

Her curiosity gets the best of her, however, and she finally looks up to meet his eyes.

 _Yes,_ she thinks to herself, _his eyes could really swallow up entire_ _galaxies_.

Before either of them has a chance to say anything, the connection breaks and Rey's finds herself back in her small room. Her heart races and she slumps against the wall, trying to make sense of her conflicting emotions.

It has never been so hard for her to hate someone.

And back on the _Finalizer,_ Kylo finally releases the breath he's been holding.

* * *

 **If you've come this far, thank you for giving me your time of day and reading this :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Lies

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews and for checking my story out in the first place. Only 708 days to go :)**

* * *

"Rey, have you ever been in love?"

The sudden question makes Rey choke on the water she's drinking. She starts coughing and wheezing, trying to regain control over her breathing. Rose smacks her on the back a couple of times but it doesn't really help.

"Why do you ask?" she croaks eventually.

Rose fidgets and turns to stare at her feet. "I was just wondering."

Rey smiles at her. This was about Finn.

Rey likes Rose. They haven't spent a lot of time together since they met after the battle on Crait, but they talked in those rare moments when they could finally catch a break. Rose was shy at first, but her curiosity got the best of her eventually and she started bombarding Rey with questions.

What's it like being the last Jedi? How does it feel to be strong with the Force? Do you feel the Dark sometimes? How are you with a lightsaber?

And when Rose couldn't think of another question to ask about the Jedi, they would tell each other stories from their childhood. How they grew up, what they dreamed about, what their home planets were like. Rey felt compassion and understanding toward Rose. They both had a difficult childhood; Rey's parents abandoned her and left her alone on that godforsaken planet, and Rose lost everything when the First Order blew up her home in order to test their weapons. The bombarding killed her parents so she and her sister had to find a way to survive on their own.

Rey knows this was before Kylo Ren's time, but she can't help but feel resentment toward him. Couldn't he see all the horrible things the First Order has always been doing? Couldn't he fathom how many families they've torn apart?

Rey carefully weighs her words. Love is not a language she's fluent in. "To be honest with you, Rose, I don't think I even know what love feels like. My parents left me when I was very young so I have no recollection of them and since then I've always been on my own. The first time I've felt close to someone was when I met Finn. But the thought of loving someone other than a friend is quite unfamiliar to me." She pauses. "What about you? Have you ever loved someone?"

Rose frowns and a wistful look crosses her face. "Ah... No, not really. My sister and I got involved with the Resistance pretty early so I never really had the time to think about romance. But I always wondered how love feels like. I asked my sister once and she told me love is compassion, an ardent need to keep that person out of harm's way and protect them, always."

Rey smiles. "I do like the sound of that. I hope you'll find that one day."

Rose smiles like she'd just been given the highest of compliments. "And you too, Rey."

Rose eventually gets called away and leaves Rey standing outside by herself. Rey revels in the quiet moment and takes in her surroundings. This newest planet on which the Resistance has settled is beautiful. It reminds her a lot of Ahch-To, and she suddenly feels sadness tug at her heart. She hasn't really allowed herself to think about Luke ever since he passed away; it hurt more than she could bear. But now, surrounded by this beautiful nature full of life and bathed in moonlight, Rey feels like she's strong enough to think about him.

"You'd like it here, Master Skywalker," she says quietly. "Life is abundant, and the sky is full of stars, every night. The Force... it's strong in this place. Leia chose it before... before she died, she said we'd find everything we need here."

This planet, Elior, is home to the newest allies of the Resistance. After Crait, nobody wanted to have anything to do with the Resistance. The First Order has decimated every single planet that they only suspected the Resistance was on, so Rey didn't blame the people of Elior for being scared and not reaching out. But once the word of a new Jedi, the _last_ Jedi, started to spread, it was like their fears had vanished.

Everyone puts so much hope in her, and it scares Rey out of her mind.

* * *

"Supreme Leader, FN-1512 has arrived," a voice calls from the door.

Klyo Ren stands up from his desk. "Let him in."

Moments later, a stormtrooper walks inside, followed by two other commanding officers.

"You're dismissed," he says curtly. The two men bow and disappear, leaving Kylo alone with the stormtrooper.

Kylo picks up the file from his desk and begins reading from it. "FN-1512. You were brought here at age six from a wealthy family and were separated from three sisters and a younger brother. Your life was almost perfect, yet you never wanted to go back," Kylo looks at him, thoughtful. "No prior signs of non-conformity either. Captain Phasma says you're one of her best soldiers. Your troop was chosen to be sent to Narù to scout out the Resistance base, and you were the one who set fire to the military base. Is that right?"

The stormtrooper proudly rolls his shoulders back. "Yes, Supreme Leader."

Kylo smirks. "You can take that helmet off now, you don't need it."

That seems to confuse the soldier. "Uh, sir?"

"Do it," Kylo growls.

FN-1512 obeys and takes off his helmet, revealing a pasty, freckled face perched on top of a long, skinny neck. A mop of shaggy red hair covers his head, some of it getting into his eyes, and Kylo has to suppress the look of disdain that's threatening to show on his face.

 _This_ is the man who killed Leia Organa? _Him_?

Kylo feels anger swelling up inside of him but continues on. "Do you know what interests me the most? There is nowhere in your file that says your mission was to blow anything up, let alone a Resistance military base. You were only to scout out their fuel and weapons reserves, and I don't remember granting you permission to do something as idiotic as this," he barely manages to finish his sentence with a steady voice. This idiot is just _looking_ at him like he'd sprouted a second head.

"I-idiotic, sir?"

"How else would you describe it?!" Kylo shouts. "After your little stunt, the entire Resistance disappeared without a trace, and now we have no idea where they are! All because an insignificant little maggot like you decided to act on his own!"

The stormtrooper flinches in fear and bows his head. His knees are trembling and his voice shakes as he speaks. "I-I received orders to s-set fire to that base, sir. When I said the leader of the Resistance, Leia Organa, was inside, they told me to-"

His sentence is cut short when Kylo raises a hand and grabs him by the throat. He uses every ounce of willpower he has not to strangle the life out him. He's never felt such rage in his entire life, and he doesn't really know how he's still controlling himself.

"Who gave you the order?" he asks, his words coming out like poison arrows.

"General... Hux," the stormtrooper croaks.

Kylo's grip falters slightly as he tries to make sense of the stormtrooper's words. But he doesn't release his hold on the soldier's throat; instead, he watches as that spark of life dies in FN-1512's eyes and only releases him when his body goes limp. He watches his lifeless body for a moment, wondering how he would explain this if anyone were to ask. To say Kylo didn't plan to kill the stormtrooper from the start would be a lie. As much as he tries to deny it even to himself, deep down he knows he didn't kill FN-1512 because he chased the Resistance away.

That burning need to avenge his mother's death has finally been quenched. Now if he could only get the pain to disappear as well.

* * *

Dear Maker, who knew books could be so boring?

Rey sighs in frustration and throws her head back, accidentally banging it against the wall. She curses and rubs the sore spot on her nape as she eyes the books in disdain. If she knew they were this boring, she would have gladly left them on Ahch-To.

It's pages and pages of rules and prohibitions, guidelines and mantras. She expected to find some information on using the Force or building a lightsaber, but it seems this book doesn't have what she's looking for. She just read a ten-page essay on why Jedi shouldn't marry, and her head is starting to hurt a little. No matter how hard she tried, it was so difficult for her to understand all of this.

"Where did you get that?"

Rey jumps, startled, and turns around to see Kylo. He seems interested as he looks at the book lying on her lap, and she quickly shuts it to keep him from looking.

He raises an eyebrow. "Did you already forget that Luke trained me as well? I was reading those books before you even knew what a Jedi was."

She scoffs. "Yet here we are," she mumbles.

In that moment, Rey swears she can see a small smirk tug on the corner of his lips.

"Indeed." He pauses. "So where did you get the books?"

"I took them when I left the island," she answers honestly. At least in front of Kylo Ren, she doesn't feel like she needs to prove she's morally superior. He starts walking around and she wonders if he can see her room. She can't see his surroundings at the moment, only him.

"The Jedi aren't supposed to steal, you know."

"Did you come here just to provoke me?" she asks. They're keeping the conversation light and uneventful, and that eases Rey's mind. She knows she wouldn't be able to take a heated argument right now, or, even worse, a heartfelt conversation like those they shared before they turned away from each other.

"I didn't have a lot of choice in the matter."

They stand in silence for a long time, and Rey is reminded of the last time they saw each other. She remembers his grief and anger and instinctively looks at his hands. He's wearing gloves like always, but that doesn't stop her from blurting out a question without thinking.

"How are your hands?"

Their eyes meet and Rey sees so much raw emotion in them, it takes her by surprise. A second later his face is yet again expressionless and impossible to read. If he's affected by her question in any way, he doesn't show it.

"The medical droids took care of that," he says in a steady voice. "They also threw away those rags."

Rey flinches at his words. She waits for the punchline, but he stares back at her blankly. Her throat tightens and an ache appears in her chest as she fights the urge to cry. It seems that no matter how many chances she gives him, no matter how many times she reaches out, he will always reject her. Silently, she berates herself for being so stupid and thinking he could ever change. _This,_ this is all Kylo Ren could ever amount to be - a cold, heartless human being.

"That's great. It's too bad they didn't choke you with them first," she grips once she's sure she has her feelings under control. "How did you become so cold, Kylo?"

"I've always been like this," he says as if he were stating an obvious fact. "You said it yourself, I'm a monster."

Rey opens her mouth to say something, but Kylo doesn't hear her. He's left standing in his room again, her eyes haunting him. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. He feels frustrated and foolish; he can't stop seeing the hurt on her face even though he was being cruel to her on purpose.

After today, she'd hate him for sure.

He tells himself it's for the better. He can't take it when she looks at himlike she cares, the way she just did when she asked him about his hands. It's the same look she had when they'd touched hands, the same look from the elevator. She seeks him out and even if she would never admit it, he knows he's taken root inside her heart. Maybe not as a romantic interest, but most definitely as a person she cares for.

And it kills him, because every time she looks at him like that, every time she shows him kindness, another crack appears in his resolve. The need to stand by her side is so strong it nearly overpowers him every time, and every time he's drawn more and more to her light. Like a moth to a flame, he gravitates towards her, her gentle hands, and her kind, lonely eyes.

He knows the only way to stop this from happening is to drive her away. Everything will be much easier once she sees there's no saving him.

He's gone too far into the dark.

Too far.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3: One Step

**Ah, I made it! I struggled a bit with this chapter, but I like how it turned out in the end.**

 **Only 704 days left!**

* * *

Rey's never been this exhausted before.

She's panting as beads of sweat roll down the bridge of her nose, a few of them getting into her eyes. She wipes her face with the back of her hand and squeezes her staff tighter. She feels as if it's the only thing keeping her grounded at the moment, and for that, she's grateful. Her legs feel like they might give out soon, but she pushes herself further. She needs some way to express her feelings, needs to make room in her head or she'll go insane.

She's been training for what feels like hours. What began as meditating turned into practicing forms with her staff. Now she is outright fighting the air, swinging her staff wildly, trying to defeat the thoughts that wouldn't leave her alone. It's been a while since she's let out steam like this, but instead of feeling liberated, she just feels more anxious.

Her thoughts are chaotic, her emotions a wild storm.

 _Damn him,_ she thinks. _Damn him to the furthest corners of the galaxy, and back._

Her swipes become angrier and more uncontrolled, her temper suddenly flares and she lets out a scream from the very depth of her soul.

It's Finn's voice that makes her snap back to reality, and she finds her staff a mere inch away from the column in front of her. As dread replaces anger, she realizes she was a moment away from breaking it. Her anchor. Her support.

"Finn," she breathes out.

He slowly walks up to her, his stance cautious. "Rey? Are you okay?"

She nods. "I am."

"It was like... like you completely lost control over yourself. Are you sure you're okay?"

He's looking at her like she's a time bomb; like she might explode raw power at moment and wipe out the entire planet. It makes her feel ashamed and she can't bring herself to look into his eyes. She feels like she failed him by losing control in such a way, and it makes her drop her staff. Her knees buckle and Finn catches her by the arms.

"I think you overdid yourself back there. You should take some rest," he tells her gently.

He leads her to a chair and helps her take a seat. The look on his face doesn't show any sort of hate or fear; he only seems very concerned for her. It will never stop amazing Rey what an amazing and caring friend he really is.

"What's going on, Rey? You've been acting weird lately."

She avoids his eyes. "Have I? I'm sorry, I... It's just been hard for me since Leia died. And Luke before her. And... Han," she closes her eyes at the mention of Han. Thinking of him still made her feel the most pain. "I've been trying to find answers in the Force, but I have no one to teach me and it's just been-"

"-hard," Finn finishes. "Hey, I'm no Jedi, but I understand. I know you're under a lot of pressure. Especially since everyone started talking about the 'mysterious last Jedi' who could defeat the First Order."

"I just..." Rey sighs. "I don't know if I can be what everyone wants me to be."

Finn looks at her like she's talking nonsense. "You don't have to be anything, Rey. No one can tell _you,_ one of the last Force users in the galaxy, what you should do."

"But the Resistance-"

"The Resistance will be fine on its own. Look, we've been on Elior for only two weeks and we've already grown in numbers. Dozens of volunteers have already joined us. It's only a matter of time before we become a real threat to the First Order. But for now, you need to focus on yourself. If you don't train and grow as a Jedi, you won't be able to take down Kylo Ren. You know you're the only one who can defeat him."

She mulls over his words. A part of her knows Finn's right - her and Kylo were remnants of the Force and they'd have to face off eventually. She could feel that Kylo was getting stronger with every passing day, his strength fueled by something Rey couldn't put her finger on. But she could also sense her own power growing. It was like Snoke said - darkness rises, and light to meet it.

But did she even want to stand against him in a fight? The thought of him dying by her own hand felt utterly wrong. She knew she could never kill him.

"I never finished my third lesson," she tells him. "I wonder what it was."

Finn smiles warmly at her. "I'm sure it's not anything you don't already know."

Rey blinks, speechless by the amount of faith he has in her. "Thank you, Finn."

"Don't worry, whatever happens, I've got your back. Even if you decided to take up scavenging again, I would follow you back to Jakku."

She laughs. "No, you wouldn't."

"You're right, I wouldn't. It's so _hot_ down there," he says and dissolves into a fit of laughter.

It feels nice to laugh like this again. Days have been bleak lately and Rey begins to wonder if maybe she just needed a good laugh with Finn to lift her spirits. Sitting here with him, talking, it feels like the good old days, before everything became so complicated and confusing feelings got in the way. She berates herself for thinking of Kylo again and tries her best to get him out of her mind.

"What would I do without you?" she asks him once their laughter subsided.

"I really don't know. I mean, look at me, I'm awesome."

* * *

That night, Rey falls into a deep sleep. She doesn't welcome it, though, because nightmares begin to dance in her mind the moment sleep overtakes her. However, to her, they seem more like visions.

The dream starts out on Jakku. Or at least Rey thinks it's Jakku. That desert air she's grown up with now makes it hard for her to breathe. She makes her way through a seemingly endless desert, trying to find her way back home. She hears voices all around her, they're trying to tell her something, but the cacophony makes it hard for her to make out any words.

She sees a figure in the distance and starts running toward it. She recognizes Luke's features and relief washes over her.

"Master Luke!"

"You will find what you need here, Rey," he says, but his voice sounds distant. "You and I share the same beginning, don't let us share the same ending."

She reaches the top of the dune where Luke was standing, and gasps, covering her mouth in shock.

Below her, lying on the hot desert sand, are dead bodies. She sees that some of them are missing limbs, and bile rises in her throat. She almost throws up, but she's shocked into absolute stillness when a figure kneeling among the bodies stands up. It slowly turns around to face her, and Rey has to stop herself from screaming when she sees Kylo's face. Except it's not really _him -_ he looks stark raving mad, his face is somehow distorted and there is a sickening shade of yellow tainting his eyes.

Their eyes meet and a satisfied smirk crosses his features. Kylo looks at her like he's just found his new prey, and Rey realizes this would be the perfect time to run. If only she could; she was paralyzed with fear.

He slowly starts moving towards her, carelessly stepping over the bodies. Rey looks down and lets out a blood-curdling scream, falling backward onto the sand when she sees Poe's dead eyes staring back at her. She realizes that these bodies didn't belong to a group of random people she's never met. She sees a clump of black hair and recognizes Rose, sees a patch of dark skin and instantly knows she's looking at Finn. She sees two people with holes where their hearts are supposed to be, holding hands, and realizes it's Han and Leia. Luke is not far from them.

Her whole world starts crumbling down around her, but amidst the ruins, she finds another emotion to grab onto.

Anger. All-consuming, maddening rage.

She calls for Luke's old lightsaber and suddenly it flies into her hand. Kylo has almost reached her by now, but she charges at him before he has the chance to attack her. In an exact replica of their fight in the forest, she strikes him across the face with the lightsaber and he falls to the ground. When he sits up, the yellow from his eyes is gone.

The man staring at her isn't even Kylo Ren at this point, it's Ben Solo. He watches her as she holds her lightsaber, ready to strike.

"Kill me," he tells her. "Please."

"What?"

"Don't you see?!" he screams at her. " _This_ is what I'll become if you don't kill me! I'll kill everyone you love, I'll take everything from you!"

Rey shakes her head, feeling powerless. "No, I can't accept that! There's still good in you, Ben!"

He seems completely broken as he looks up at her. "No, there isn't. I've given everything I have to the dark side, if I turn back now it will all be for nothing! Please, just kill me."

Rey's eyes fill with tears. "I can't."

Silence.

"Then you're a fool."

The last thing Rey sees before he lunges at her is the evil yellow glow in his eyes.

* * *

A scream wakes her. It takes her a moment to realize it's her own. She sits up in her bed and looks around, relieved to see the inside of her room. Across from her, Rose is sitting in her bed, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Rey?! What's wrong, are you okay?"

Rey shakes her head. "I'm fine."

"Bad dream?" Rose guesses.

"The worst nightmare I ever had."

Rose is quiet for a moment. "What was it about? ... Is it okay if I ask that?"

"I dreamed that..." Rey pauses, trying her best to form a coherent sentence. "I dreamed that Kylo Ren killed you all. He asked me to kill him before he became a real monster."

"That's horrible."

"But... even though he did all these terrible things, I still couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him, even in a dream. Why am I so weak?" she asks, feeling exhausted.

Rose smiles sadly at her. "You're not weak, Rey, you're human. It's hard for good people to take lives."

Her words are meant to be comforting, but Rey finds that she's too troubled at the moment to be comforted.

"Was there more?" Rose asks.

Rey thinks back to the dream, and her eyes widen. "Yes, there was! Master Luke was telling me something. He said I would find answers in that place."

Rose frowns. "What place?"

"I don't know... It seemed like I was on Jakku, but I wasn't. It was a desert planet of some sort, it felt so familiar to me." It was like with Ahch-To, she'd seen the place in her dreams, but she never knew what or where it was exactly.

"Well, Luke grew up on Tatooine," Rose says slowly. "Could it be that he was telling you to go to his home planet?"

Rey jumps from her bed, exhaustion suddenly replaced by excitement. "Yes! Yes, Rose, exactly! Where else would Luke send me? Could you go get Poe for me? I have to tell him I'm leaving."

"R-right now? You're leaving now?"

"There's no time to lose," Rey says hurriedly. "I'll start packing, please go fetch him for me. And tell him to ask Chewie if he's up for an adventure."

Rose looks unsure, but gives a small nod eventually. When she slips out of the room, Rey starts filling her bag with necessities.

"You're going somewhere in the middle of the night?" a voice suddenly asks behind her.

She doesn't turn around and continues to pack her things. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"You never do."

"It's good you noticed," she says coolly.

"Is this another pointless mission of yours to bring peace to the galaxy?" his voice is positively dripping with sarcasm and it annoys Rey greatly.

"Is being the Supreme Leader so amazing that you don't even want to sleep so you wouldn't lose time of day?" she fires back and turns to look at him. "I mean, it's the only reason I can think of why you would be up at this hour."

He steps closer and she takes a step back. For a moment, Rey wonders if this is how it's always going to be. When one of them finally gathers the courage to take a step forward, will the other inevitably take a step back? A part of her hopes things will change. It would be nice to meet in the middle for once.

She blames the late hours of the night for making her cave so easily; she can't tear her eyes away from him even as she feels the air around them changing and his poorly concealed need to be closer to her. She feels like she did back in that cottage on Ahch-To, more than anything she wishes to at least touch his hands.

He takes another step forward and this time, she doesn't step back.

"Wherever you're going," he says in a low voice, "don't-"

Whatever he was going to say gets cut off, and Rey is left feeling cold and disappointed.

* * *

"-get yourself killed," Kylo finishes, a heavy sigh escaping him.

* * *

 **These two make me board the feel train every time... I want to write about them all the time, alas, I have an actual storyline in mind and if I focus only on Kylo and Rey nothing else will be written :(**

 **As always, thank you for reading, if you have any thoughts let me know in a review. I hope I'm doing the characters justice, I try to really capture their personalities and if I can't imagine them saying something, I usually leave that part out.**

 **I hope you have a lovely day and, of course, may the Force be with you :)**


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